Eliquid is one of the main elements of vaping. Without it, there would be no vaping. In liquid form this “juice” contains usually no more than 4 main ingredients. Usually Polypropylene Glycol, Vegetable Glycerin , nicotine and flavoring. All of these proponents except for nicotine actually are found in everyday food products that you can find in your own grocery store. To understand why these “proponents” are used, we will explain. Polypropylene Glycol (PG) is for the throat hit feeling associated with analog cigarettes, and Vegetable Glycerin (VG) is to produce vapor. The flavoring is for taste and the nicotine to satisfy your cravings. VG and PG are perfect liquids for this purpose mostly because they are FDA approved and they are optimal transport for nicotine.
Eliquid is made in a clean lab that has been certified by AEMSA. AEMSA is a organization that regulates and sets standards regarding the eliquid manufacturing industry. The important thing to being a consumer is being informed of common legitimate practices of eliquid manufacturers. These common practices are in line with being AEMSA certified: using proper labeling, having childproof caps and seals and lab standards. We have discussed AEMSA, now lets move on to proper labeling. Any label of a liquid should have the following: ingredients, expiration date, nicotine level, nicotine warning, and VG/PG ratio. These are common steps every juice company should be taking in order to be as responsible as possible. Childproof packaging is important for safety. Just as medication has these caps, eliquid should as well. In most states, not adhering to this step can result in heavy fines and other consequences.
Eliquid is used as a vessel for nicotine to be ingested into your body. However, having nicotine in your juice is optional. Plenty of people vape without it. You might be asking yourself, “why!?” Well, people tend to ween themselves off of nicotine once they start vaping to reach the goal of being nicotine free and non-dependent. Many people continue to vape after they ween off of nicotine to satisfy the physical habit. The liquid is vaporized (heated and turned into vapor) in the e-cigarette. The vapor is then inhaled into the mouth, ending in your lungs. You then exhale essentially water vapor. This is why the practice is known as vaping, because it is all basically vapor. So along with your vaping hardware, eliquid is just as important.
There are a few different levels of nicotine percentages in juice. The highest usually is 1.8% which if you were/are a heavy smoker might be enough to satisfy your cravings. The lowest is 0% but the next step up is 0.3%, and then 0.6% and 1.1%. These are all steps to help you ween yourself or feel stable without analog cigarettes. You will feel out your options and what level you like based on your cravings.
The flavors out there are limitless. You can find anything you want really. Popular flavor profiles are: fruits, desserts, tobaccos, menthol, and drinks. Most vapers when starting their new lifestyle of vaping will start with tobacco or menthol flavors to make their transition from traditional cigarettes to vaping full time. This seems the easiest because you are used to these flavors. Some go towards desserts to satisfy their sweet tooth at the same time as satisfying the nicotine craving. The goal is to find the juice that does it for you. Satiating the want and the need for traditional cigarettes. If you happen to buy a bottle of juice and it tends to be a little harsh a step to mellowing out the flavors would be to steep the juice. Let it sit for a period of time. Sometimes juice is so fresh that the flavors haven't had enough time to mingle and mellow out. Sometimes a good shake will help. Other times, it's too fresh for even the ingredients to become a homogenized mixture. If the juice looks like it has “separated” shake it for a while to further mix.
The process of using your eliquid surrounds the application. If filling a tank, first things first, prime your coils. This means to saturate slowly the wick. Follow the instructions on filling your tank and let it sit for a few minutes. The goal here is to fully saturate the wick before vaping so you don't get a burnt taste. If you are dripping directly on a atomizer, you will drip juice directly onto the wick and coils. Make sure to once again saturate the wick appropriately. Not too much, not too little. Too much and your atomizer will leak and wont produce vapor, too little and it'll have that burnt taste. Once you get one or two of those, you'll learn your lesson.